Talking Shop: Back to Life – ReVived Design’s recycled products

Netherlands-native Lise van de Bose has called Beijing home for seven years, originally making the move to study for a Masters degree. She has always enjoyed craft projects using recycled materials, and although she has been using recycled products to design her signature purses for a few years, she only began to sell her products to the public in October of last year, under the name ReVived Design. Van de Bose says that she had received “a lot of positive feedback on my purses, even from strangers in the subway! I realized it would be a fun way to raise environmental awareness.”

Van de Bose draws inspiration from a variety of sources in her designs. “Sometimes it is the material itself that inspires me, and sometimes I look at traditional crochet patterns and just change the materials,” she says. Her designs also come with an environmental message. “My main goal is to inspire people to rethink the use of items that are generally thrown away and thereby reduce waste.” Her designs attract a clientele that can appreciate handicraft, and is interested in protecting the environment. Van de Bose even holds workshops for all ages, where people can learn how to make some basic recycled crafts.

Van de Bose commonly utilizes pull-tabs in her crafts. While she sources the majority of them from her own recycling, she also encourages people, restaurants, bars, and schools to get involved and help her to collect them. For each 100 tabs she receives, she donates RMB 3 to the Migrant Children’s Foundation. Similarly, for every purchase of a purse over RMB 500, Van de Bose will donate five percent to a charity of the customer’s choosing.

ReVived Design products come at a range of prices, from RMB 10 for a key chain or hairclip, up to RMB 1500 for the largest bag. Most purses range from RMB 200-600. Her most popular items are the cassette tape business cardholders, as well as her pull-tab clutches with a classic purse frame.

Van de Bose creates all the products herself by hand, although she would like to create a small team in the future. ReVived Design currently has no physical shopfront, and Van de Bose mainly sells her products at bazaars around the city. To keep up to date with when she will attend a bazaar or host a workshop, add ReVived-Design on WeChat. Orders can be placed, and purchases made via Wechat and on the Weidian site. Readers that would like to get in touch to donate pull-tabs can donate them directly to Van de Bose, or to Dini’s Kosher Restaurant.

This article originally appeared on page 14 of the beijingkids March 2016 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com